Teach Fractions or Decimals first? Seeks Math Whiz help! :)

Normally I'd post this in the elementary section because I teach 4th grade... but I thought those that teach upper level math might be able to give me insight as well.

We use Everyday Math for our curriculum, though I do not follow it page by page exactly. In the curriculum it introduces decimals first (up to the thousandths) and then introduces fractions a couple chapters later.

The way it deals with decimals is by using cubes, longs, and flats. A flat is made up of 100 tiny cubes and a long is made up of 10 tiny cubes. So if the Flat is the whole (the One) then 1 long = 0.1 or 1/10, and the cube = 0.01 or 1/100th. As far as I can remember, it doesn't actually show the fraction.

They develop their understanding of a decimal being only part of one by looking at the concept that 0.1 x 10 = 1... etc etc.

Do you agree that dealing with the decimal concept first is good, and then dealing with fraction concepts after??

I'm not sure if either one is better first.. I just know that it was a challenging concept for my kids in general.

I'm not a math teacher, but I can say from my experiences tutoring developmental math at a community college, I had the best results doing fractions first.

Many of the people I tutored had severe cases of math phobia and were trying to pass pre-algebra so they could take the classes they needed for credit. I also tutored people trying to pass Praxis I (those ones scared me, I must admit...). Fractions and decimals pretty much universally scared them silly, but I found that they dealt best with decimals after getting comfortable with fractions and percents. For example, the concept of .5 being 1/2 and 50% off made sense to them once I took them through newspaper sale ads. I also used money.

I can't provide any input on how this translates to elementary school kids though.

I think you have to constantly use both decimals and fractions and constantly point out the equivalents.

When I used a base ten set, I used the cube for 1 whole so that I could get down to the thousandths. I always noted both the fraction and decimal forms.

Do you do calendar math every morning? That helps a lot.

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No we don't do calendar math in the 4th grade. EDM uses a cube (or I think EDM calls them blocks) as the whole when they start to introduce thousandths.. but first they make a flat the whole... not sure if I want to just start with the block as a whole, or do the switch like they do. They switch the whole from flat to block so kids can understand that the whole changes as well.

Conceptually I think fractions are easier, but computationally they are more difficult for most people.

I can see the merit of doing decimals before fractions. Decimals are just a generalization of integers. Decimal multiplication and addition are not that much different from integer mult/add. Fractions require a new set of rules to do these operations.

That said, since I have never introduced fractions/decimals before I'll stop talking now.

Conceptually I think fractions are easier, but computationally they are more difficult for most people.

I can see the merit of doing decimals before fractions. Decimals are just a generalization of integers. Decimal multiplication and addition are not that much different from integer mult/add. Fractions require a new set of rules to do these operations.

That said, since I have never introduced fractions/decimals before I'll stop talking now.

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While they are both parts of a whole, small simple fractions are easy to visualize and draw out, so when introducing the concept of what they are, I like to do fractions first. With the younger set, doing any sort of arithmetic with fractions beyond adding/subtracting with common denominators should be put off until the multiplication tables are solid. I think that doing unlike denominators and reducing fractions too soon is part of why many people have a fear of them.

Conceptually I think fractions are easier, but computationally they are more difficult for most people.

I can see the merit of doing decimals before fractions. Decimals are just a generalization of integers. Decimal multiplication and addition are not that much different from integer mult/add. Fractions require a new set of rules to do these operations.

That said, since I have never introduced fractions/decimals before I'll stop talking now.

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Good point in regards to the conceptual and computational difference. Personally I feel like a conceptual understanding should have more priority and be introduced first and then computational should be second priority. Thoughts?

If you start with the decimals for place value, it is really easy. Just say, what is this place value position? They say 1/10. You say, oh that means a 1 in the tenths place, and write .1. Go on to do the same for 1/100 and 1/1000.

Next, tell them that if you can say the word form of a decimal, you can write it as a fraction. The word form for .05 is 5/100 because it has a 5 in the hundredths place. If they can say the word form of any decimal, they should be able to write what they say in fraction form.

But what exactly is 1 tenth, or 3 tenths? I'm not an expert with little ones, since my only experience is with my own children, but I've found that it's easier to get the idea of "part of a whole" from small, simple fractions, then move onto what that means in decimal forms. My own personal opinion of what order it should be taught is this:

1) The concept of a part of a whole using small simple fractions such as 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/10(an important one) and such.

Yes, but they've already learned those by 4th grade, mm. They should be able to recognize visual representations of parts of a whole and parts of a group already. By the end of 5th grade, many students will be ready to convert fractions to decimals.